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LOS ANGELES – Later Thursday night, the Padres will board a plane to San Francisco. Maybe when they land, Fernando Tatis Jr.’s ball will be there to greet them.
At 22, Tatis has already made a career in moonshots. But even by his standards, this one was special. In the fifth inning of the Padres’ game against the Dodgers, Tatis got a suspended slider from right-hander Tony Gonsolin and sent him out of Dodger Stadium.
And, yes, we mean from Dodger Stadium.
The ball passed from the top of the left field pavilion and into the north hall of the stadium. It was Tatis’ 42nd home run, putting him in possession of second place on the Padres roster in just one season.
According to Statcast, it was the second longest run of Tatis’ career at 467 feet, behind his shot at Coors Field on June 16 this season. It was the first home run to leave Dodger Stadium since Giancarlo Stanton hit a 475-foot explosion for the Marlins on May 12, 2015.
The Padres may have disappeared from the playoff image, but Tatis is still in the running to make franchise history. As a National League MVP candidate, Tatis could join Ken Caminiti (1996) as the only Padres to win the award. He also seems likely to join Fred McGriff (1992) as the only Padres to win the NL home run crown. Atlanta’s Adam Duvall is currently second at 38.
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